


sun, moon, stars

by anachronist



Series: blood trails [1]
Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, xxxHoLic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Family Dynamics, Multi, mild crossover elements with Kekkai Sensen, re-imagined holic backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-17 07:20:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12360483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anachronist/pseuds/anachronist
Summary: Clow's kindness never quite translated properly when he set his mind to meddling in other people’s affairs, even if he meant well.Both Eriol and Kimihiro deal with it as they struggle to make sense of their lives.[Prequel of sorts tomay you live an (un)eventful life. No knowledge of that or of Kekkai Sensen is required to read this. Updates will be erratic.]





	1. an issue of kindness

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for a while. Figure I'd polish and post it now that Kekkai Sensen S2's started.

They were close friends before they were briefly lovers and co-conspirators, and after they were friends again with too much knowledge and care of each other’s secrets.

The break-up had been mutual and amicable, disinclined as they were to continue a romance with one partner for too long when they could get more value out of a friendship. In some ways they were too similar, too independent, neither the type to give up their personal creature comforts and peculiarities for the sake of another, and both of them had too long to live and too much to remember.

It was that same familiarity that harshly illuminated their differences in handling this particular issue. For all that Clow Reed was a skilled creator of constructs and the master of Eastern and Western magics, heavens forbid that he be placed in sole charge of raising _the children_.

“You’re an idiot, Clow,” Yuuko said, keeping a watchful eye on the dark-haired twins happily riding on Cerebrus’ back in the garden, Yue briskly walking after them and scolding his fellow Guardian for his rambunctious behaviour. It was a delightful summer morning, full of innocence and joy - a far cry from the rather serious but necessary talk with Clow in the shade of the pagoda, unusual in its distinct lack of their usual banter.

Perhaps tomorrow, if her old friend stopped being a terrible arse for a day, they’d sit on a picnic blanket with refreshments and cheer on the kids, and she’d tease him for needing Yue’s daily fussiness in combing his hair.

(There was no sense in failing to take part of these simple moments of brilliance untouched by grief. The present was ever fleeting, and their sons would not remain children at heart forever.)

“Knowing what lies ahead and what they’ve inherited from us, you cannot seek to control their destinies down to the minutia, even if you are convinced the outcome will make them happy.” Yuuko refilled their glasses with white wine and replaced the bottle in the ice pail on the marble table between them. “All of us must meet the inevitable. Even you.”

And inevitable it was, for someone to crave usurping Clow from the position of the world’s most powerful magician without a care for what they scarred and destroyed in their wake. Whether the challenger was in the form of a distant cousin or another being, those with ambition chased after power.

(Aspirations in and of themselves were not evil. The darker side of human nature, however, twisted it into insatiable hunger.

The same tragedy, bearing different faces and retold over the ages.)

It was not the confrontation itself that concerned Clow, but its aftermath of heartbreak and mourning. Yuuko shared the sentiment, but not the magician’s method.

There was a delicate line between sparing one’s loved ones from pain, and risking their capacity to grow stronger as they underwent those trials. Clow’s intervention would but amplify the consequences.

“There is still nothing wrong in preparing even with that reasoning,” Clow gently chided, his ever-present smile masking his true thoughts. “You of all people, my dear Dimensional Witch, must allow this foolish man a chance to fix his mistakes.” He paused, and turned his gaze to the children. “Everything is for their sake, and for one other. The twins will grow into fine young men.”

Immensely disappointed as she was, Yuuko didn’t find the response surprising. Stubborn over-confident idiot - he’d already made up his mind regardless of her input.

“That goes without saying,” she replied, and paused. “Failing to plan is not the issue. They will miss you greatly.”

 _Don’t deny them a chance to bid farewell_ was left unsaid - the actual crux of this particular discussion. His kindness never quite translated properly when he set his mind to meddling in other people’s affairs, even if he meant well.

The dark-haired man sipped his wine, fully aware of what Yuuko asked of him.

It was more than merely being able to saying goodbye.

Time was running out, and it was a grevious start to the end of an era. Precious few magicians remained in this plane of existence, and there were secrets Clow would never share.

The last truly powerful casters native to this dimension would descend from Clow and his deceased brother’s line, the twins included. Already, Fei Wang had started his hunt, utilizing the services of young, witless Blood Breed to remove other perceived rivals from the picture. If Fei Wang would not succeed in defeating Clow, he’d make sure no one else could.

(In all of Clow’s visions, even Yuuko would not walk away unscathed: a rift in space and time would result from the clash of two powerful magicians regardless of the victor, and they could not allow such a catastrophe to spread.

She accepted the toll on herself far easier than he did.)

“Mama! Papa!”

Yuuko pulled out of her reverie, fixing a smile on her lips as she opened her arms to catch her giggling younger son and playfully gave him a mild noogie. His brother, ever the pensive one, followed at a sedate pace with a hand on Cerebrus’ mane, glancing at both his parents’ expressions even as he listened to the lion’s excited chatter.

Already, he showed signs of manifesting Clow’s gift, and she didn’t doubt he had an inkling of what this conversation was about. His burden from it would be equally great.

Yuuko herself would not see her sons reach adulthood. At the very least, she would do her best to prepare them for her fate.

 

000

 

“Clow.” Yuuko’s gaze was heavy, voice grave, the black cloth of her ceremonial dress merging with the shadows of the room. Moonlight from the window illuminated her pale skin and brought out the glow of her wine colored eyes. In that half darkness, she sat regally in seiza, nary a stray crackle of the magic she entwined with the wards to betray her grief and frustration. Around them, Clow’s own power lingered, the traces of the spell he cast minutes before yet to dissipate.

Having foreknowledge of Clow’s choices, his death, and all that came after never had equated to stopping her own reaction to them.

The seal they created on the foundations flashed, and otherworldly crack resounded in the air. In the central room next to them, the two anchors created for this space shone in their artificial sleep, their energy focused entirely in sustaining the seal’s stability. At the back of Yuuko’s mind, she sensed the dark hunger of miasma creeping along the edge of the property in anticipation of a feast. Fei Wang’s attack had started, and with him were several magic-engorged Blood Breed.

The man’s desire had shifted from merely defeating Clow to fully extinguishing his line, right then and there.

(Conquest was not what Clow had wished for, when he had grown weary of being the world’s greatest magician. Perhaps that was why the one who answered the call with such decisiveness turned out to be the most destructive of all.)

On Yuuko’s lap rested the slumbering heads of two boys at the cusp of adolescence. Between them, clutched in their joined hands, was a gold pocket watch and an elegantly embossed crimson book bearing the likeness of Clow’s Sun Guardian on the cover.

There was no need to ask what he’d done when the evidence was clearly before her, irrevocable and unbreakable: he would leave without saying goodbye.

Ever lacking in tact, until the very end.

“Is this your answer?”

“Their names are now Hiiragizawa Eriol and Watanuki Kimihiro,” Clow simply replied, staff in one hand, long robes trailing on the floor. He was still smiling, the weight of his regret never reaching his handsome features, and reached down to caress her cheek a final time. “My dearest friend. I am happy to have met all of you.”

She let out a long breath and clasped the back of his hand, meeting his touch, tension draining from her form. His palm warmed her cold skin, and she committed this moment to memory.

Regardless of the turmoil she felt, she would not begrudge this man his last words to her.

“And I, you,” she murmured.

The outmost barrier splintered. Space distorted. A slender cut sliced her upper arm, the drop of blood welling up absorbed by her sleeve.

It was time.

Yuuko spared a moment to watch Clow exit the room, tall, proud, and broad-shouldered, robes trailing behind him, its gold trim glinting in the moonlight. The greatest magician in the world, unfailingly human with his mistakes and kindness.

Outside, a terrible wind began to stir, and a dark cloud obscured the evening sky.

The second barrier rippled. Her shoulder twinged. Their assailants had switched tracks, showing off their newly learned use of the magic they’d absorbed: curses.

Yuuko closed her eyes and focused on her task, even as her hands strayed to rest on her boys’ shoulders. Fei Wang’s companions were being utterly uncute with their recklessness, too comfortable wielding power unjustly earned.

In response, the Dimension Witch unfurled more of her magic until she felt the thrum of every ward, spell, and seal etched into her being.

_Let those with ill intent suffer the consequences of their own actions._


	2. of ellipses - 01

“Obtaining his memories will not bring you happiness,” his mother said, the day he told her he planned on studying in England. It was similar to the warning his father gave when he’d been alive, under a moonless sky filled with stars, that conversation ending up far from where they’d started.

For both times Eriol inquired, he made sure his brother was not within earshot. Kimihiro had been asleep for the first one, arms wrapped snuggly around Cerebrus’ smaller form. He was thankfully undisturbed by Eriol’s tossing and turning in the other bed before the older twin decided that he might as well bring up his recent dreams with their father if he couldn’t fall back to sleep.

(Even in remembrance, no traces of their old names remained. In the earlier days, anyone outside their parents’ confidants would struggle to even associate Clow’s and Yuuko’s names with their respective titles. Eriol had to admire the intricacies of the spell that its effects implied, in the same breath that he regretted the necessity of its casting.)

Clow had been cryptic when Eriol first confessed to seeing a determined young girl with short, caramel hair face off against a stoic, sadder Yue. The significance of her winged staff and the glowing circle beneath her feet was not lost on him - she was his uncle’s descendant.

Yuuko’s complaints of Clow’s slyness were not unfounded. Young as he was, Eriol understood there were things his father was disinclined to reveal.

Would his father do the same now, when the image of a grieving, older Kimihiro appeared to him in a nightmare?

The familiar walls of his father’s childhood home were different from his mother’s Japanese-style residence. Eriol was able to navigate both with ease even in the dark, though in this instance he had to grasp the stair railing tightly as he descended the steps to the first floor, and he made his way to the garden.

Sure enough, Clow was seated on a marble bench, gazing at the stars.

“Eriol-kun.” HIs father was rarely surprised. Now was no different. Clow shuffled to the side and gestured at the freed up space next to him.

The boy took the offered seat. For a while neither said anything, the cool summer breeze rustling the foliage and playing with the hem of their clothes. A few crickets chirped in the distance, until the sound was replaced with a satisfied croak.

Eriol had to smile a little when he realized what had happened. Were it Kimihiro in his place, the younger twin would have been torn between mourning the loss of the crickets and begrudgingly acknowledging that the frog needed food.

Clow chuckled. Eriol looked up to see his father smiling kindly at him.

“What might be on your mind this late at night?”

Eriol took a moment to consider his words, his heel scuffling once on the ground, and shared his tale.

“Ah.” His father’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly into a shade of sadness. Perhaps it was due to their similarities that he read Clow’s mood better than his brother could. “And you seek to help your brother where you can.”

He held his father’s gaze with a steady one of his own. Even without the scant few minutes of age he had over Kimihiro, he took his sibling’s wellbeing seriously, to which their parents expressed equal parts fondness and gravitas, with amusement sprinkled in at light-hearted moments.

To see the future without the ability to seal or control this gift from such a young age - it took its toll.

Kimihiro’s expressive, soft-hearted nature led to him being a bit of a crybaby on occasion. It was as adorable as it was worrisome: a fragile heart that could break with despair without proper support. Of course Eriol could not help but want to lessen that burden, if only by a little.

(Farewells were difficult enough, and Kimihiro took it harder than most.)

The breeze carried with it wisps of a cloud, dimming the light of the stars. They passed with the movement of the earth on its own axis, steadfast in its dance in its own corner of the galaxy. Finally, Clow spoke.

“When the time comes, I will pass on my knowledge to you. Not all, but the important ones. In the end, you are the better judge of how to use your own power.” He placed a gentle hand on Eriol’s dark head. “I fear that my own understanding will only be a hindrance.”

Maybe it was for the task at hand. Maybe it wasn’t. It was up to Eriol to decide for himself, wasn’t it?

He always risked getting caught in his father’s shadow. He knew this already. But he had no choice but to move forward and _do_ , for the sake of those he cared for.

 _At what cost_ , Yuuko’s solemn gaze asked him in the present, and Eriol took his mother’s hands.

“Everything will turn out fine,” he assured her, and she gave him a wan smile as she straightened his collar with practiced ease.

“Now, where have I heard that line before?” She brushed her knuckles on his cheek, and her touch was as light as a butterfly’s. “Your choices are your own, Eriol. Don’t be in such a hurry to get to the future. It will come, soon enough.”

He nodded, and didn’t say that was what he was afraid of.


End file.
